But the scandal began in 2013, when his wife, Dianne Bentley, became suspicious of the budding relationship.

In March 2014, according to the report, Dianne placed a recorder inside her purse and discovered that her husband had called Mason and declared his love for her — a minute after Dianne left the room.

Robert's efforts to dispose of the recordings led to many of the accusations that he misused funds. He later pleaded guilty to them.

On the night of his reelection in the 2014 gubernatorial race, Robert was convinced that his opponent had a copy of the recording and told Alabama Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier to travel to Greenville to retrieve it, according to the report.

Dianne's chief of staff, Heather Hannah, claimed Robert told her she would "never work in the state of Alabama again" if she told anyone about the affair, the report says.